WASHINGTON - December 23 - The decision by a Virginia jury to sentence Lee Boyd Malvo to life imprisonment without parole offers further evidence that the juvenile death penalty in Virginia and throughout the United States is being slowly but surely eliminated as a public policy option, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said today.

Brian Roberts, NCADP executive director, said the circumstances surrounding Malvo's trial heavily favored the prosecution. "First, Attorney General John Ashcroft allowed the trial to be held in Virginia, which executes people more quickly than any other state and permits the execution of juvenile offenders," Roberts said. "Second, the jury that heard this case was 'death qualified' - meaning that staunch opponents of the death penalty could not serve. After Malvo's conviction, the wheels were greased for a death sentence in this case."

Roberts said the jury's decision reflects an emerging national consensus against the juvenile death penalty. "Twelve jurors heard weeks of evidence in a very difficult case with a most disturbing set of facts," Roberts said. "The fact that this jury could not agree on a death sentence is an indication that Americans no longer accept death as an option for our nation's youth. At the same time, we grieve for the victims of the sniper attacks, including Linda Franklin and her surviving loved ones."

A poll released just last week by ABC News found a strong majority of the U.S. public supports life imprisonment for Malvo over the death penalty - despite the media attention that surrounded Malvo's case and that of his accomplice, John Muhammad. According to the poll, 52 percent of those surveyed favored life without parole and only 37 percent supported the death penalty. When asked the generic question of whether respondents favored life without parole for juvenile offenders who commit murder, 62 percent favored life in prison and only 21 percent support execution.

"The American public is ahead of state legislators, district attorneys and Attorney General Ashcroft on this issue," Roberts said. "No civilized society executes juvenile offenders."

Roberts said a growing body of medical evidence suggests that juvenile offenders are not as culpable as adult offenders and have a better chance of becoming rehabilitated. "We once believed the human brain was fully developed by age 14," he said. "We now know that the brain is still developing beyond the age of 17. The fact is that juveniles have lesser capacity for reflective judgment and impulse control than adult offenders. Unfortunately, our criminal justice system has not kept pace with recent discoveries in the area of the behavioral sciences."

In January, NCADP launched its Campaign to End Juvenile Executions. This campaign is focused on abolishing the death penalty in the 22 states that still allow 16- or 17-year-old offenders to be sentenced to death. For more information, please visit www.ncadp.org.